Our holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives/transparencies that we've scanned ourselves; in addition, many other photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) in the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) They are adjusted, restored and reworked by your webmaster in accordance with his aesthetic sensibilities before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here. All of these images (including "derivative works") are protected by copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions and may not be sold, reproduced or otherwise used for commercial purposes without permission.

I found this Kodachrome slide in a old slide projector case a few years back. I could tell it was a rear-engine automobile and an older one at that. Upon inspection through a loupe it became obvious that this was the engine compartment of 1948 Tucker, a rare car indeed. I originally thought this picture was taken in a showroom, but the dealer plates on the car are from 1951 and the car appeared to have been driven (there's even some rust if you look carefully). So, I contacted Jay Follis, President of the Tucker Automobile Club of America and sent him the scan. He said, "from looking at the photo and the plate I would guess this car to be number #1048, which was part of a traveling exhibit in the 1950's." That's Tucker #48, there were only 51 cars made. In August of 2008, Tucker #1038 (also in Moss Green) sold for $1,017,500. I have since donated the original slide to the Tucker Historical Collection. View full size.

1916. "Indian Head, Maryland. Navy proving ground. Residence of George Swann, damaged by 16-inch shell that hit another in sandbank, and was deflected over country at 3/4 angle. The shell, where it stopped in dooryard." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative, Library of Congress. View full size.

January 14, 1924. "Mrs. Harry S. New," wife of the Postmaster General. This might be good fodder for a caption contest. Which commences right now with yours truly as the judge. National Photo Company glass negative. View full size.

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.